Dhanush likely to direct second film in 2018; Prasanna expected to play lead role

2017 has been a fabulous year for Dhanush not just as an actor but as a director too. After impressing audiences and critics alike with the heartwarming Power Paandi, which marked his directorial debut, he is gearing up for his second directorial project.

Dhanush. YouTube

While not much information is available about the yet-untitled project, we have exclusively learnt from our reliable sources that the film will go on the floors from August 2018. “He will start this project after he wraps up Maari 2. As of now, the plan is start shooting from August next year. It’ll be a modern-day drama with small period connect. Minor portion of the film will have a pre-independent connect and this will be the film’s biggest highlight. It’s still not yet known if Dhanush will act in the film as well,” a source close to Dhanush told Firstpost.

There were rumours that Dhanush might direct a sequel to Power Paandi, a heartwarming story of a 60-year-old former stuntman Pandian, played by Rajkiran, who explores life on a road trip. Dhanush played a cameo in the film.

“The sequel plan is definitely on, but he won’t work on it right away. What he’s making next is a very special project which he had written a few years ago. He wants to complete all pending commitments before he commences work on this project as it’ll be a very important film in his career,” the source said, adding the cast and crew are yet to be finalised. However, the industry grapevine is that actor Prasanna, who played a crucial role in Power Paandi, has already bagged an important role in this project, which will be bankrolled by Sri Thenandal Studios on a lavish scale.

On the career front, Dhanush is currently shooting for two projects simultaneously. He is shooting for the last schedule of Gautham Menon’s Enai Noki Paayum Thota during the day and working on Vetrimaaran’s gangster drama Vada Chennai in the night.

“He will be done with both the projects by early next month. He will immediately begin work on Maari 2, which he plans to wrap up by May or June,” the source said. In Maari 2, he reunites with director Balaji Mohan and has been teamed with Sai Pallavi for the first time. Malayalam actor Tovino Thomas has been roped in to play the antagonist. It has also been confirmed that the project will celebrate the reunion of Dhanush and composer Yuvan Shankar Raja after a decade.

The source also added that Dhanush will work on his next Hindi project with Raanjhanaa director Anand L Rai towards the end of next year.